Health Care

Congresswoman Lee advocates for health care that is affordable for every American

"Health care is a basic human right. We must work to provide high quality, affordable health care for all Americans." –Barbara Lee

It is time to stand up for equality of access, care and coverage. We simply cannot afford to return to the days when predatory insurance companies and profit-driven motives are allowed to control healthcare needs.

Affordable Health Care Act

President Obama secured significant health care reform as one of his first major legislative priorities. It is a law with a number of varied triggers—some that have been in effect since 2010, and others that will go into effect over the next several years.

In its purest sense, the Affordable Care Act builds a bridge to 2014 when a new competitive insurance marketplace will be established. The new marketplace will include state-run health insurance exchanges where millions of Americans and small businesses will be able to purchase affordable coverage, and have the same choices of insurance as Members of Congress. However, Congresswoman Lee still believes a public, single payer option would provide the most affordable, quality and accessible health care system.

Congresswoman Lee Pushes Health Priorities

In addition to supporting the Affordable Care Act, Barbara Lee continues to champion a host of other health-related initiatives like education and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), preserving a woman's rights to choose and strengthening global health systems. The Congresswoman has pushed for a greater focus on prevention, screening and treatment of STDs as well as an effort to prevent the spread of STDs and HIV in prisons.

the fight for women's rights, Barbara Lee has consistently fought against the frequent attempts to restrict women's reproductive rights. Congresswoman Lee also pushes to strengthen health programs in developing countries by supporting the recruitment, training and training of indigenous health workers in those countries.